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The Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end and 16-sack man was filled in by New York Giants pass-rusher Justin Tuck, who spent a brief period with Wake back in 2005, before the current Miami Dolphins star was cut and fled for the CFL.

“We’re from the same area,” Hall said of Wake on Saturday, as the Riders finished up their final preparations for Sunday’s Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium. “He made all-metro in the area I’m from, the Washington, D.C., area. Matter of fact, when I was with the Giants, Tuck and I were talking about something and he said, ‘It’s a crazy business. They cut Cam Wake.’ This was even before I came up here and he was telling me how good (Wake) was and he’s one of the best players in the league now.”

Wake’s ascension from CFL star to elite NFL pass-rusher no doubt motivates many players in Canada with dreams of making a name for themselves down south.

“Especially playing the same position, but anybody, at any position can motivate you in any situation,” Hall said. “Definitely, his situation, to see what he’s been through and see what he’s accomplished is definitely a driving force.”

Even though Hall already has three sacks to his credit from his two-year stint with the Cleveland Browns in 2008-09, it’s expected he’ll get another NFL look when he becomes a free-agent this off-season.

But before that happens, Hall is in position to put a championship on his resume Sunday if the Riders can get past the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The 28-year-old didn’t expect to be in this position a couple months ago, but was dealt from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to the Riders at the trade deadline.

Hall noticed a championship mindset from the moment he arrived in Regina.

“As soon as I got here, I got that feeling,” Hall said. “When I was in Winnipeg, we were losing and we were getting beat and it was like the morale was down and stuff like that. When I came here, the morale was up-beat and guys held their head up and they were looking forward to certain things like practice. It was definitely different.”

Just one of his 16 sacks came as a member of the Riders, in part because of the rotation the Green & White employ along their front-four, with Hall, John Chick and Ricky Foley sharing snaps in various alignments.

“We had a rotation in Winnipeg, too,” Hall said. “I came in and out and rotated with guys, but it’s a little bit more of a rotation here than what I was used to. It took some getting used to, the scheme and I’m not necessarily doing the same type of things.”

The edge-rushers aren’t alone, as interior linemen Keith Shologan, Jermaine McElveen and local product Zack Evans rotate at the defensive tackle spot, a position that is also dealing with the absence of Tearrius George, who was ruled out earlier this week for the second straight game due to a knee injury suffered in the West semifinal.

“The big thing is everybody’s fresh,” Shologan said. “We’ve got fast, smaller, quicker guys pass-rushing on second-and-long and then we’ve got a few us bigger guys that play first down, and everybody’s doing it. Our three ends are doing it and the D-tackles have been doing it.”

Grey Cup 2013: Roughriders' Alex Hall hopes to get a shot with NFL

The Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive end and 16-sack man was filled in by New York Giants pass-rusher Justin Tuck, who spent a brief period with Wake back in 2005, before the current Miami Dolphins star was cut and fled for the CFL.

“We’re from the same area,” Hall said of Wake on Saturday, as the Riders finished up their final preparations for Sunday’s Grey Cup at Mosaic Stadium. “He made all-metro in the area I’m from, the Washington, D.C., area. Matter of fact, when I was with the Giants, Tuck and I were talking about something and he said, ‘It’s a crazy business. They cut Cam Wake.’ This was even before I came up here and he was telling me how good (Wake) was and he’s one of the best players in the league now.”

Wake’s ascension from CFL star to elite NFL pass-rusher no doubt motivates many players in Canada with dreams of making a name for themselves down south.